History of the Gothic: Gothic Literature 1825-1914

Gothic Literary Studies

by Jarlath Killeen

In this volume, Jarlath Killeen provides a detailed and accessible introduction to the gothic literature of the nineteenth century. Examining how themes and trends associated with early gothic novels were diffused in many different genres throughout the Victorian period—including the ghost story, the detective story, and the adventure story— History of the Gothic pays particular attention to how the gothic attempted to resolve the psychological and theological problems introduced with the modernization and secularization of British society, as well as the relationship between the child and horror.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gothic, Reference

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2009

Reviews

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Gothic studies, regularly published by the University of Wales Press in the twenty-first century, have quicky become my absolute favourites of Gothic scholarship and Jarlath Killeen's GOTHIC LITERATURE 1825-1914 is one of my favourites yet. It's an impassioned, massively-researched exploration of the Victorian Gothic cycle, beginning with a wide overview of themes and trends in the introduction, which is astonishingly well-realised and incisive, and thereafter grouped thematically through four large chapters, each of which acts as kind of a mini-thesis on a particular aspect of the genre. The Ghosts of Time examines the temporal aspects of Gothic texts, while The Horror of Childhood explores the link between childhood and the ghastly to strong effect. Regional Gothic shines a spotlight on the murkier Celtic fringes of the UK and the horrors that emerged there, while the best and most enlightening chapter is the last, Ghosting the Gothic and the New Occult, which marries the ghostly and the supernatural with the development of Victorian Occultism. This chapter is particularly fascinating for its detailed yet broad overview of the subject, something I previously knew little about. The conclusion, which examines the Gothic in light of the WW1 experience, is a moving examination of a kind of 'growing up' period for the genre.

[Tânia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I enjoyed the most about History of the Gothic: Gothic Literature 1825-1914 were its considerations on the monstrous, ghosts, and the occult. Moreover, it was also offered an insightful perspective on the Gothic child and Gothic regions.